In recent years the rapid expansion of the world's population coupled with the accelerated technological development of large sectors of the world has produced a dramatic increase in the demand for energy in all forms including fuels and electricity for heating, lighting, transportation and manufacturing processes. The construction of hydroelectric facilities and the development of fossil fuel resources has continued at a rapid rate, but it becomes increasingly evident for a number of reasons that these efforts are inadequate to keep pace with the demands of the growing population.
A first difficulty is the limited availability of fuels such as oil and natural gas. Most countries in the world today do not have adequate sources of these fuels within their own boundaries and are dependent upon foreign sources, notably the Middle East countries for supply. Such a dependence can and does have undesirable effects on the economies of the countries involved and political complications often result. There are also limited sites available that are appropriate for hydroelectric installations.
More recently, the hope that nuclear power would soon lead to a rapid solution of the energy dilemma has been cooled by delays stemming again from environmental concerns and reservations about the safety of such plants and about the adequacy of plans for handling the radioactive wastes associated with such installations.
In the face of these growing demands and limited resources, there is one source of energy which is readily available to every country in the world in virtually unlimited quantities. This virtually untapped source is wind energy.
The interest in this almost boundless resource and in its development and harnessing for use in homes and factories is rising as other resources dwindle. Its desirability is further enhanced by the fact that wind energy may be converted to practical use without the hazard of environmental contamination.
History does not record the date of the invention of windmills, i.e., one of the first land uses of wind movement, but it is known that windmills were used in Europe as early as the 12th century A.D. In windmills used for general power purposes including pumping, sawing, grinding etc., the power is transmitted through a train of gears to a vertical shaft. Any torque exerted by the gearing upon the vertical shaft reacts upon the windmill itself tending to rotate it out of its normal position with regard to the direction of the wind.
In addition to the stresses upon the windmills and their gearing arrangements, the known windmills were usually mounted upon towers of heights ranging from 10 to 100 or more feet so that the wind which acts upon them will not be seriously affected by obstructions which may exist in their immediate neighborhoods.
In order to increase the effectiveness of hardware necessary to harness wind movement, it is necessary to create a wind energy system which will function effectively at wind currents as low as 7 to 10 miles per hour velocity and at speeds reaching their maximum velocities with a simple and economical device requiring little maintenance and upkeep activities. The device must be able to generate electricity, store it, feed it back into utility power grids or use it directly. Such a system and device requires a new and novel electric alternator for effective operation with the modern day wind turbines.